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A prospective cohort study published in Scientific Reports found that early reductions in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels predict the response to entecavir therapy in genotype B-infected or C-infected patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV).1

Treatment response to peginterferon can be predicted by the absolute reduction in HBsAg levels, as well as the decline in levels after 3 or 6 months of treatment, in hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg)-positive and -negative patients, respectively.2,3 In nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy, this reduction is slower and less pronounced.4 In HBeAg-positive patients, HBsAg loss is associated with a rapid decline in HBsAg levels during the first year of treatment with telbivudine (≥0.5 log10 IU/mL at month 6 or ≥1.0 log10IU/mL at month 12), and a reduction of ≥1.0 log10 IU/mL at week 24 of tenofovir therapy.5,6

However, the kinetics of HBsAg levels in early NA treatment, as well as optimal cutoffs and time points to define HBsAg reduction during treatment, remain unclear. In addition, the link between “early HBsAg decline and the therapeutic outcomes during long-term NA treatment is controversial,” wrote the investigators.

Note: It’s important to read the entire article. It states that alcohol use and smoking can contribute to Parkinson’s disease. Studies have found that people with hepatitis C (as a group) are more likely to drink more alcohol and smoke cigarettes. Furthermore, prior studies have not found a link between hepatitis B and Parkinson’s disease. I think this study is interesting but we need larger more definitive research. Alan

MINNEAPOLIS – The viruses hepatitis B and C may both be associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a study published in the March 29, 2017, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The hepatitis virus affects the liver.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that anywhere from 850,000 to 2.2 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis B virus infection and anywhere from 2.7 to 3.9 million people have chronic hepatitis C. While both can lead to serious illness, many people have few symptoms and do not realize they have the virus, especially at first.

Hepatitis B is spread through contact with blood and body fluids of an infected person, such as unprotected sex, sharing needles, getting a tattoo or piercing with unsterilized tools or sharing razors or toothbrushes with an infected person.

Health experts have devised an aggressive plan to stamp out a viral disease that is fueling a sharp rise in liver cancer in the United States and killing 20,000 Americans per year.

Their national strategy for eliminating two types of hepatitis by 2030 hinges on persuading the federal government to purchase the rights to one or more of the costly new medications that can essentially cure hepatitis C.

That unprecedented step is one of a raft of recommendations issued Tuesday by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The academies’ expert panel also recommended a campaign to vaccinate all adults against hepatitis B, expanding needle exchanges for intravenous drug users and a nationwide effort to identify and treat the legions of Americans who are unknowingly infected with either strain of the virus.

A new article published in Hematology linked hepatitis B surface antibodies (anti-HBs) with reduced reactivation risk in individuals with resolved hepatitis B virus (HBV) undergoing chemotherapy for the treatment of hematological malignancies.1

This risk for reactivation in this scenario has become a growing area of concern in recent years, as it can lead to liver failure and death, in addition to causing delays in treating the cancer. The American Gastroenterological Association Institute issued guidelines in 2015 regarding the prevention and treatment of HBV reactivation during immunosuppressive drug therapy.2

Patients with chronic HBV infection whose malignancies are treated with rituximab or bone marrow transplantation have the greatest reactivation risk (30% – 80%).3 Although those with resolved HBV infection also carry the risk for reactivation (up to 16%), some findings indicate that anti-HBs may protect against reactivation, although other data have been conflicting.4,5